Perspectives from our people

"In Bermuda I feel valued and a part of the business and the team."

Audit Senior Divan Steyn tells us why he joined Deloitte in Bermuda

Why did you decide to apply to an opportunity to work abroad?
I wanted to gain international experience, as well as see the world. Job opportunities in South Africa are limited and so widening my options to working abroad opened many more doors for me.

Why did you choose Bermuda?
Bermuda was the riskiest “safe” move that I could imagine. As I have a Type A personality taking risks is not really something that comes easily to me. I considered all the factors, and made my decision to move based on the following:

Bermuda is on the other side of the world and so I would get to experience a completely different culture.

I wanted to cross over to the financial industry as I was mostly on manufacturing, retail clients back home, and in Bermuda, I could gain SEC experience without having to face a busy city (which is what I wanted to get way from in South Africa).

I have never lived by the beach and Bermuda has beautiful beaches everywhere. I also don’t know many people who can say that they have lived on an island before, so that could be a pretty great story later in my life.

Bermuda is very close to the United States of America, which I had visited once before and absolutely loved it so was eager to explore more.

What attracted you to join Deloitte?
I have been at Deloitte since I finished high school. My parents and family worked at Deloitte and after signing my trainee contract and experiencing the many events and activities that Deloitte has to offer, I absolutely fell in love. The culture and the people really make Deloitte a wonderful place to work.

The fact that the company has such a large global footprint also helped position me to action my dream of traveling halfway across the world to live on an island. The fact that Deloitte can make that happen, to me, makes Deloitte a pretty cool place to work for.

How did you find the transition and support provided?
Despite the fact that I missed my flight from JFK to Bermuda, had no cell phone reception or Wi-Fi to notify Deloitte, lost my bags and then after three days of wearing my friends’ clothes, getting my bags back, only to realize that some of the content was stolen, the transition was super smooth. Deloitte was super helpful in booking my flights the first and second time, the Talent team performed miracles, and found me a direct flight to Bermuda the very next day, despite the airport officials insisting there are no open seats available. Deloitte was also very accommodating by allowing us lots of time to go apartment hunting – which is always a daunting experience. The first two weeks of training was really fun and everyone was very helpful in getting us on our feet.

What is the work like in Bermuda?
It’s great! Everyone is very friendly and help each other out, and you aren’t just treated like you’re another number. Working for one of a larger Deloitte firm on a training contract really makes you feel disposable as there is always a new wave of people coming in the door having just finished their university degree. In Bermuda I feel valued and a part of the business and the team.

The work hours are great, and I actually have a work life balance here. In Bermuda, working for Deloitte is far more than just sitting down every morning and getting your audit done. We organise social events, sports teams, and charity projects and have fun doing it. Here in Bermuda, I don’t only work with my colleagues, but I’m also friends with them and that makes the environment even better.

In addition to the above, Bermuda has also allowed me to learn and grow so much in the short time that I have been here, even though the industry is new, the work was never unmanageable, and there is always someone willing to help you out.

What are the main differences between working in your home office and Bermuda?
Traffic! Bermuda has none, although I do miss having a car, especially when it rains. Really, the best thing in the Bermuda office is the interaction with your team. Everyone you need to talk to is ten feet away. You can just pop over to your manager if you want to clarify something, and you don’t have to spend hours trying to track them down. Another big difference is not being out at the client as much, as we mostly work from the office, and have an allocated place to work from was a welcome change as we only had hot desks back in SA.

Describe what it is like living in Bermuda so far?
Living in Bermuda has been great, so great in fact that I don’t want to go back home (yet). Every morning I drive to work along the harbour, and I get so distracted by how beautiful it is! On weekends, I like to take a ferry ride because it is so cool being out on the water, especially as I grew up in the Free State (South Africa) which is in the middle of the country and we only went to the ocean once a year. The people here are amazing. I definitely love the sense of community Bermuda has to it, especially when you partake in many of the charity and social events hosted throughout the year.

Favourite moment to date?
Going to, and discovering, what a raft up is.

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